Note book

Ban on mephedrone

The synthetic drug mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) is to be banned in the European Union (EU). The stimulant, whose physical effects are similar to those produced by cocaine or ecstasy, has been linked to 37 deaths in the UK and Ireland alone. The ban will prohibit the manufacturing and marketing of the drug, submitting it to criminal sanctions all over Europe.

Scientific misconduct

Bengu Sezen, a former graduate student of Dalibor Sames, at Columbia University, New York in the US has been found guilty of misconduct in science. An investigation by the university and additional analysis by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has found Sezen guilty of 21 counts of scientific misconduct, based on evidence that she intentionally falsified, fabricated and in one instance plagiarised data reported in three research papers in her doctoral thes

IYC 2011

The opening ceremony for the International Year of Chemistry (IYC) 2011 will be held in Paris, France, at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) headquarters on 27-28 January. Together with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (Iupac) and the United Nations (UN), Unesco is leading this global celebration of chemistry's achievements and contribution to the well-being of humankind.

Go Figure

250 000

The estimated cost of making an artificial sausage from pork grown from stem cells in the laboratory, according to Mark Post, the lead researcher of a team that has grown artificial pig muscle, at the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, reports The Times.